Attachment for boots and shoes.



E. FULLER. ATTACHMENT TOR BooTs AND SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.30, 1910. 1,087,361

Patented Feb.`1

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Amm/5y COLUMBIA PLAnoGR/u UNrTED STATES EUGENE FULLER, OF PROVIDENCE,RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR OF THIRTY ONE- HUNDREDTHS TO CHARLES A. GAUDETTE,OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

ATTACHMENT FOR BOOTS AND SHOES. K

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led September 30, 1910. Serial No. 584,648.

To all 'whom it may concern Be it known that I, EUGENE FULLER, a

citizen of the United States, residing at the ments in Attachments forBoots and Shoes,

of which the following is a specification, reference being had thereinto the accompanying drawing.

Devices adapted to be worn beneath the tread portion o-f boots and shoesand which do not eXtend the full length thereof, such as rubberhalf-soles or ice Creepers, are impracticable or Vobjectionable unlesspositively and securely attached.

My invention relates to lattachments of this character having improvedmeans for securing them in position for use.

The invention is illustrated as including an impervious, resilienthalf-Sole because it is especially adapted for the protection of thetread portions of boots and shoes forward of the shank. f

One of the objects of the invention is to provide improved meansforrirmly gripping the attachment to the tread portion of a boot or shoewhich it is to protect.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means foruniting the clasp or gripper with the rubber portion when the inventionis embodied in a rubber sole protector.

To these ends the invention consists in the construction and combinationof parts substantially as hereinafter described and claimed.

Of the accompanying drawing z-Figure 1 is a side elevation of a shoehaving my invention in one of itsl embodiments applied to the fore partof the sole of the shoe, a portion of the attachment being in section.Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the attachment but omitting the toeportion thereof, a portion of the lining being broken away to show themetallic parts of the attachment. Fig. 3 represents a section on line3-3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 represents a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2. Fig. 5is an under plan View of the shank end of the attachment and showing thegripping members in the positions which they occupy when the jaws `arecontracted. Fig. 6 represents a section on line 6 6 of Fig. 5. Fig. 7represents asection on line 7-7 of Fig. 4. Fig. 8 represents a sectionon line 8-8 of Fig. 5, the full lines indicating` the relative positionsof the parts when the jaws are opened, the dotted lines representing thesame positions which they occupy in Fig. 5. Fig. 9 is a perspective viewof the lever of the gripping mechanism.

Similar reference characters indicate the same or similar parts in allof the views.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the main part of theattachment. consists of a protector for the fore part of the sole of ashoe. For convenience of illustration the bottom surface is not shown asroughened, but it will be readily understood that rubber half-soles areusually corrugated to aid in preventing them from slipping, land if saidcorrugations were to consist of metal project-ions, the attachment wouldserve as what is called an ice-Creeper. The specific structure shownherein, however, embodies a rubber layer 10, an inner sole 11 and alining 12. This portion of the attachment hasflanges 13 to embrace theedges of the sole a of the shoe. The edge of the Hange 13 is preferablythickened to form a bead 14, said iange and bead extending around thesides and tip of the toe of the shoe sole as clearly indicated in Fig.l. This part of the attachment, whether a rubber half sole or an icecreeper, must for practical purposes be firmly secured at the endopposite the toe portion, and I will now proceed to describe thegripping members which have jaws to grip the edges of the shank portionsof the shoe sole.

The main plate 15 has one edge formed with one or more slots 16 as bestindicated kin Fig. 5. The reason for making two slots in line with eachother is so as to leave a connecting web of metal between the front bar17 of the plate and the main portion of said plate. A divided strip 18preferably of some strong fabric, is passed around the bar 17 throughthe slot or slots 16 and the two ends of said strip then cementedbetween the members 11 and 12 as best shown in Fig. 4. Since of coursethe members 10, 11 and 12 are all cemented tightly-together thisstructure provides for a durable and reliable connection between therubber half sole and the gripping device.

The plate or member l5 is bent upwardly at one end to form a jaw 19, andadjacent to said jaw it is out out and bent outwardly .and twisted toform a shouldered stud 2O Patented Feb. 17,1914..`

which co-acts with a slot in the lever as hereinafter described to lockthe lever in opera-l tive or gripping position. rlhe other end of theplate member 15 is bent downwardly and provided with side projections toform a T shaped stud 21 on which the adjustable jaw member presentlydescribed is guided. At an intermediate portion, the plate member 15 iscut out and bent to form an ear 22 to which ear the lever presentlydescribed is pivoted, (see Fig. 8).

The plate 23 is bent upwardly at one end to form a jaw 2st to coperatewith jaw 19 in elasping the shank portion of a shoe sole. Thisadjustable jaw member 23 is formed with a slot 25 to guide it on thestud 21 when being adjusted. Said plate or member 23 is also formed witha plurality of transverse slots 2G through either one of which the lever27 may pass, said lever being pivoted at one end to the fulcrum ear 22.Of course the normal distance apart of the two jaws will be variedaccording to which slot 2G receives the lever 27. Said lever 27 isformed with lateral ears 28 (see Fig. 9) which extend over the member atthe ends of the slot 26 through which the lever passes, so that whensaid lever` is in the released position, as illustrated in Fig. 8, saidears 28 will still retain and prevent the free end of the jaw member 23from dropping too far so that said jaw member may be readily carriedback to its dotted or closed position by a further movement of saidlever. rEhe lever 27 is formed with a ''fslot 29 and adjacent thetransverse portion of said slot the metal is depressed as at 30 (seeFigs. 6 and 9).

1When the lever 27 is carried from the position shown by full lines inFig. 8 to thc position indicated by dotted lines in that ligure, thecurved portion of said lever acts upon the side of the slot 26 throughwhich said lever passes so as to forcibly draw the jaws 19, 24 towardeach other to firmly grip the edges of the shank portion of the shoesole. During the last portion of the movement of the lever 27, thelongitudinal portion of the T-slot 29 passes over the stud 20. The lever27 is constructed of somewhat resilient metal, and it is so shaped thatsome little pressure will be required to carry it to the positionindicated by dotted lines in Fig. 8, after which movement the lever isshifted slightly sidewise so that the shank of the stud 20 passes alongthe transverse portion of the T-slot 29 and the shoulders of said stud20 will slip into the depressions 30. Therefore the lever 27 will besecurely locked in place and the jaws can notbe separated so as toremove the attachment from the shoe sole excepting by releasing thedepressions 39 from the shoulders of the stud 20, and then moving thelever 27 Slightly laterallyT to release it from the stud 2O to permit itto be opened to the full line position in Fig. 8. rllhe lever is formedwith shoulders 31, see Fig. 9, which engage the inner side of jaw member23 to positively separate said member 23 from the member 15 so thatcontinued movement of the lever will slide member 23 to separate thejaws. 1n Fig. 9 is shown the aperture 32 through which the fulcrum ear22 of jaw member 15 passes.

The inner faces of the jaws 19, 24 are preferably formed with spurs 33to engage the edges of the shank portion of the shoe sole.

Said spurs, as shown in Fig. 7, point in a direction toward the slot 1Gand consequently point in a forward direction or, in other words, insuch direction as to prevent the gripping portion of the attachment frombeing pulled or slid forwardly toward the toe of the sole. Sometimes theedges of that portion of the shank which is gripped are so nearlyparallel that even when a correct adjustment of the gripping members hasbeen made, the jaws might slip along the sole so as to release theentire attachment. The spurs 33 serve to firmly hold the grippingmembers of the attachment in the longitudinal position where they areclamped.

A portion of the flexible part of the device extends rearwardly abovethe clamping mechanism and consequently is bound firmly against theunder surface of the shoe shank when the device is in place, as shown inFig. 1. ln the particular embodiment of the invention illustrated thelining 12 is, as is usual with rubber half-soles, made of waterprooftextile material. rlhis layer or lining 12 is longer than the inner sole11 and sole 10 so as to provide a rear end or edge which, in practice,may be cemented down upon the upper face of the main plate 15. Cementwill serve for this purpose, because in use, there is no tendency topull the rear flap or layer of the lining' 12 away from the upper faceof plate 15. When the attachment is secured to a bottom or shoe sole,the same act which contracts the jaws serves to press the plate 15 sofirmly upward as to clamp the rear end of this flexible portion of theattachment against the under surface of the shoe shank and prevent theentrance of moisture. Of course the flange 13 protects the rest of theshoe sole, and therefore my invention serves the additional function ofrendering the sole protector more effective in excluding moisture thanis the case with rubber half-soles which have no means for binding theirrear edges snugly against the under surface of the shoe shank.

lt will now be seen that 1 have provided an attachment for boot and shoesoles shaped at one end to engage the toe end of the sole, the other endof the attachment being provided with two relatively movable jaw membersadapted to engage shank portions of the sole, a lever being so connectedto one jaw member and engaged with the other jaw member as to forciblyclamp the jaws in place when the lever is being moved from the full lineposition to the dotted line position indicated in Fig. 8. And the leveris then locked so that it will be held firmly in place. Owing to theconnection of the metal portions of the attachment with the flexiblesole covering portion, by means of the loops in the attaching strip 18which is cemented to the fabric portion of the device, the wholeattachment can be stretched and attached without liability of the metalportion being pulled away from the rest of the attachment owing to anystrain in use due to forward or backward slipping of the foot of theuser.

I claim:

1. A boot and shoe sole attachment having a portion at one end to engagethe toe end of the sole and having at the other end two slidahlyconnected jaw members to engage shank portions of the sole, one of saidmembers having a slot, a lever passing through said slot and pivotallyconnected to the other jaw member to forcibly clamp the jaws in place,and locking mechanism for holding thc lever in place.

2. A boot and shoe sole attachment having a portion at one end to engagethe toe end of the sole and having at the other end two slidablyconnected jaw members to engage shank portions of the sole, one of saidmembers having a plurality of transverse slots, a lever passing throughone of said slots and pivotally connected to the other jaw member toforcibly clamp the jaws in place, and locking mechanism for holding thelever in lace.

P 3. A detachable sole protector for shoes provided with a flexibleinner sole having a portion at one end to engage the toe end of the shoesole, a slotted gripping device at the rear end of the protector havingjaws for clamping and securing said protector to the shoe shank, and anattaching strip of flexible material passing through said slottedportion and doubled over and secured tothe inner sole of said protectorto secure said clamp to said protector.

4f. A detachable sole protector for shoes provided with a flexible innersole having a portion at one end to engage the toe end of the shoe solo1a slotted gripping device at the rear end of the protector having jawsfor clamping and securing said protector to the shoe shank7 an attachingstrip of flexible material passing through said slotted portion anddoubled over and secured to the inner sole of said protector to securesaid clamp to said protector, and means for adjusting said grippingdevice to conform to shoe shanks of dierent widths.

5. A boot and shoe sole attachment including a flexible outer soleportion and an inner layer or lining portion of waterproof material, andlever actuated clamping mechanism at the end of the outer sole to securethe rear edge of the attachment in position to the shoe shank7 saidinner layer or' lining portion having a tongue extending beyond the soleportion and overlying the clamping mechanism in position to be pressedby the latter against the under surface of the shoe shank to excludemoisture from entering the shoe by way of the shank.

In testimony whereof I a'Hix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EUGENE FULLER.

Titnesses HOWARD E. BARLOW, E. I. OGDEN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

